The Indianapolis 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, celebrates its 110th birthday on Sunday when the green flag drops at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also known as The Brickyard.
IndyCar Series doesn’t attract as much attention as NASCAR, or even Formula One, but this is the premier event within the series and is one of America’s pastimes.
Here are the top things to know.
The Favorite
Alex Palou not only won last year’s Indy 500, in addition to being the IndyCar Series champion for the fourth time, but he’s also leading the 2026 IndyCar Series standings. Oh yeah, he also sits on the pole for Sunday’s race, meaning he’s the prohibitive favorite to top the podium. If he does, then the Spaniard would become the seventh person to win back-to-back Indy 500 races, with the last being Josef Newgarden (2023-24).
However, while Palou seemingly has everything in his favor, being on the pole hasn’t been a harbinger for success as of late. Only one pole-sitter over the last 16 runnings of the race has visited Victory Lane. Over the last six drivers to sit on the pole, none have prevailed as they have an average finish of just 14.5.
The Contenders
Newgarden’s bid for a historic three-peat was cut short by Palou last year, so the former can’t be overlooked in visiting the winner’s circle again. Meanwhile, 24-year-old David Malukas doesn’t have an IndyCar Series win yet but was runner-up at this race a year ago. This season, the native Chicagoan linked up with Team Penske, which has a record 20 Indy 500 victories all-time, so he can’t be discounted to add to that total.
Then there’s Pato O’Ward, who has done just about everything but win this race. Over his last five appearances at The Brickyard, he has two runners-up, a third-place finish, and a fourth-place finish. Others, such as Marcus Ericsson and Will Power, are recent winners of this race, and outside of Palou, there are eight past winners in the 2026 field, so the Spaniard won’t lack experienced challengers.
The Double
In auto racing circles, “The Double” is known as competing in both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. The latter will take place at 6 p.m. ET in Charlotte, N.C., and Katherine Legge will be the latest to attempt the 1,100 total miles, in two different states, in a single day.
She will be the first woman to attempt The Double and just the sixth driver ever. Only Tony Stewart managed to complete both races, while the likes of John Andretti, Robby Gordon (five times), Kurt Busch, and Kyle Larson (twice) drove in both events but failed to finish at least one. No driver has ever won either the Indianapolis 500 or Coca-Cola 600 while attempting Double Duty. Legge should at least be well-rested for her attempt, as she has not raced in the IndyCar Series since 2024 and has just one NASCAR start under her belt this year.
The Old-Timers
There are several grizzled vets on the Indy 500 starting grid, beginning with a graybeard aiming for history. Four-time champion Helio Castroneves, 51, is among four men to win this race four times as he’s seeking to be the outright all-time leader at the Indianapolis 500. A man two years his junior, Takuma Sato, is looking to become a three-time Indy 500 winner. If Sato or Castroneves are able to triumph, then either would become the oldest champion in history, besting Al Unser, who was 47 in his 1987 victory.
Australian Scott Dixon already holds a record at this race as the 45-year-old has led the most laps (677) in Indianapolis 500 history. He’s hoping to add to his 2008 victory, and if he does, then that 17-year gap would be the longest in the history of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Finally, there’s 45-year-old Ed Carpenter, who, unlike Castroneves, Sato, and Dixon, doesn’t have a victory on his resume. Last year, Carpenter tied George Snider’s record for most Indy 500 starts without a win (22), so this year he’ll outright hold that record, unless, of course, he defies the odds and prevails Sunday afternoon.
The Rookies
It’s been a decade since a driver making his Indy 500 debut went on to win the race, which is a drought that a quartet of rookies are looking to end this year. Mick Schumacher, Dennis Hauger, Jacob Abel, and Caio Collet are the first-timers in this year’s field, but the odds are heavily stacked against them. The four have combined for 34 prior IndyCar Series starts, but none have a single victory to their names.
However, the same held for Castroneves back in his Indy 500 debut in 2001. He won the race in just his second-ever IndyCar Series start, eventually paving the way to a notable career: No one in history has more victories at the Indianapolis 500.
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